Posts Tagged cambodia

BANGKOK – Thailand would seek the extradition of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra if he accepts an invitation for refuge in neighboring Cambodia, the Thai prime minister said Thursday.

The reaction came a day after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen pronounced Thaksin a “political victim.” Hun Sen said that Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and later convicted of conflict of interest, was welcome in Cambodia _ even saying there’s a house ready for him.

Relations between Cambodia and Thailand are already strained over a border dispute over a parcel of land around an 11th century temple, and Hun Sen’s comments appeared timed to rattle Thailand as it prepares to host an annual Asian summit.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is hosting the summit of Asian leaders _ including the Cambodian premier _ this weekend under tight security to prevent protests by Thaksin supporters who overran a previous summit in April, forcing the leaders’ evacuation.

Abhisit said Thursday that Thailand will make an extradition request if Thaksin is given shelter in Cambodia but played down the impact of Hun Sen’s comments on bilateral relations.

Abhisit said he is aware of Hun Sen’s friendship with Thaksin and believes his Cambodian counterpart will differentiate between “friendship and duty.”

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya also suggested the remarks would not hurt relations.

“I cannot second-guess his intentions, but he’s a leader and a statesman and a senior member of ASEAN,” Kasit said of Hun Sen. “It is not possible that relations between two individuals are more important than relations between two countries.”

In Phnom Penh, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said his country will officially reply if Thai officials officially raise the extradition issue.

The two countries have had an extradition treaty since 2001.

Thaksin has been living mostly in self-imposed exile since he was ousted by the military. He was convicted last year of conflict of interest and sentenced to two years in prison, yet remains popular among Thailand’s rural poor who benefited from his populist programs.

Thai officials have revoked Thaksin’s passports, and much of his fortune remains frozen in Thai banks. He has been barred from several countries following diplomatic pressure from Thailand.

Past extradition attempts from other countries have failed due partly to bureaucracy and an inability to locate Thaksin, the government has said.

Since the coup, Thaksin has surfaced in Dubai, Hong Kong, Nicaragua, Liberia and Montenegro in pursuit of investment opportunities.

PHNOM PENH, (Reuters) – VimpelCom (VIP.N), Russia’s number two mobile phone operator, said it would invest $200 million in the Cambodian telecoms sector after taking a 90 percent stake in local mobile company Sotelco Ltd last year.

Anna Aybasheva, a spokeswoman for VimpelCom in Phnom Penh, said that this investment over three years included $70 million to develop the operation in 2009.

“We can see Cambodia’s market has very good potential, so we plan to develop our business here,” she told Reuters on Thursday.

The mobile phone penetration rate last year was low at around 25 percent but was expected to grow to 43 percent this year, especially with the entry of new operators, Aybasheva said.

Cambodia has a population of 14 million, 80 percent of whom live in the countryside, and about 4 million mobile subscribers, according to the government.

The Southeast Asian country has nine mobile phone firms, all foreign-owned except market leader Mobitel, which works in partnership with Luxembourg-registered Millicom International Cellular (MICC.O).

VimpelCom, which also operates in neighbouring Vietnam, said last July when it bought the Sotelco stake that it aimed for a market share of roughly 20 percent. (Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Alan Raybould)

“China Agrees To Loan $73 Million for Construction of Road to Rattanakiri”]

Phnom Penh: The Ministry of Economy and Finance has announced that the Chinese Government on 19 May agreed to provide a $73 million concessional loan to Cambodia to build the section of National Road 78 –from O Pong Moan to Banlung Town in Rotanakiri Province –which cuts through beautiful natural forest.

Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon, economic and finance minister, representing the Royal Government, and Zhang Jinfeng, Chinese extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador to Cambodia, signed the agreement on the provision of the concessional credit at the Economic and Finance Ministry on 19 May.

After the signing, Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon said that the inking of this framework agreement would allow the Economic and Finance Ministry to negotiate with the Chinese Export and Import Bank to obtain credit for implementing this project.

He pointed out that the project to build the 121-km long section of National Road 78, from O Pong Moan (Stoeng Treng Province) to Rotanakiri Province’s Banlung Town, would contribute to the integration of Cambodia’s interior with the region, through connecting the country’s northeastern part and plateau to its central part and to the centre of Vietnam. He also said that building this road would encourage quicker transformation of the northeastern part into the country’s new economic zone, with this National Road 78 becoming a new economic corridor for collectively serving cross-border trade, transportation, and tourism.

He also added that moreover, the building of this road would enable Cambodia to fully utilize the potentials of Cambodia’s plateau and northeastern part, through developing agriculture, agro-industry, mineral resources, and cultural and ecological tourism, with the aim of alleviating poverty and promoting economic growth through diversified economic policy. In sum, this road would become an important economic blood vessel in the near future.

IIn the article “Foreign Minister Critical of Untac’s Efforts” where Cambodia’s foreign minister Hor Namhong said “The UN’s transitional authority, which occupied Cambodia in the early 1990s, did little for the country except put an election in place in 1993, but failed to end the country’s war”.

As a former UN staff in Cambodia, I find his comment somewhat offensive. I expect more from the leader. I join “Lao Monghay, a former member of the KPNLF who is now a researcher for the Asian Human Rights Commission, who said Hor Namhong’s criticism of UNTAC overlooked the work the peacekeepers did accomplish”.

Foreign minister Hor Namhong ignore the humanitarian work which UNTAC carry out before the 1993 election, the repatriation of some 360,000 refugees from camps along Khmer-Thai border. Most of the refugees were civilians, rice farmers from north-western Cambodia, who had sought refuge on the Thai border from the ongoing conflicts following the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime following the invasion of the Vietnamese in 1979. Some refugees escape from the government that mean to provide them sanctuary, but fail to do so, instead people face with intimidation, starvation just to name a few, wonder why foreign minister Hor Namhong fail to acknowledge such a wonderful job by UNTACT.

At the time, the repatriation was considered to be the biggest operation ever undertaken by UN, many critic do not believe it is possible to carry out such an operation. Repatriate 360, 000 from Khmer-Thai border and then integrate the returnees into the community of their choice, issue the identification cards for all returnees so they are ready for the 1993 election.

I still remember the joy when the first convoy across the border and make their way to Sisophon, many of the children were born in the Camp and return to the country that they never knew, but they call it home. I still remember when we accompany the first envoy to Stung Treng, the road was so bad that we have make our trip by Helicopter. I still remember when we accompany returnee to the no-go zone, yet it was the wish of the returnees. I still remember how taught it was to negotiate land for returnees, some allocated land were so heavy laid with land-mine, thank to Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) returnees can settle safely in the allocated land.

Under the leadership of the late special envoy Sérgio Vieira de Mello, the repatriation operation was a very successful one. Sérgio Vieira de Mello (March 15, 1948 – August 19, 2003) was a Brazilian United Nations (UN) diplomat who worked for the UN for more than 34 years, earning respect and praise around the world for his efforts in the humanitarian and political programs of the UN. He was killed in the Canal Hotel Bombing in Iraq along with 21 other members of his staff on 19 August 2003 while working as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Iraq. The man whom I greatly admire and have the pleasure to work with.

It is undeniable that UNTAC has done so much for Cambodia, as in the word of President Sam Rainsy from the same article “Beyond the elections, the UN and the accords helped oust a Vietnamese force that would have had people living under a communist regime even today”.

(AP) — PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – An environmental watchdog group praised Cambodia on Wednesday for banning the export of sand, the dredging of which the group says degrades coastlines and depletes fish populations.

The London-based group Global Witness said it was pleased that Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government responded to its concerns over the potentially devastating impacts of sand dredging.

Hun Sen announced a partial ban on the practice and a total ban on exports on May 8.

Most sand exports have gone to Singapore, which has an ambitious land reclamation project, the group said. Indonesia had been Singapore’s main supplier of sand until January 2007, when the government in Jakarta banned its export.

The group-which has been critical of the country’s attitude toward the exploitation of natural resources-said the ban was a positive first step.

In a report issued three months ago, Global Witness said that “a huge sand dredging operation” began in Cambodia’s Koh Kong province last year.

The group estimated the activity to be worth at least $8.6 million per year in Cambodia.

The slump in trade is due to the global downturn, rather than continuing tension over the disputed Preah Vihear temples, she said.

“The drop is not due to the border dispute, but the global financial crisis that has cut consumer demand. The drop is mainly due to lower demand for building materials, consumer products and petroleum,” she said.

Over the first three months of this year, Thai exports to Cambodia sank 28.23 percent to $370.59 million, down from $516.37 million in the same period last year.

Cambodia’s garment exports, which rely mainly on the US market, have been hit especially hard by the slowdown. About 200 clothing factories have shut down and about 50,000 workers have been laid off, said Mrs Jiranun.

Further redundancies are also anticipated as the world and US economies remain in the doldrums.

Cambodia’s tourism has also been damaged by the world recession and by Thailand’s recent airport closures and political riots, which scared away tourists from markets such as the US, Europe and South Korea, who use Thailand as a gateway to Cambodia, said Mrs Jiranun.

The Preah Vihear dispute has also reportedly deterred 60 percent of the 200,000 to 300,000 Thai tourists who visit Cambodia each year.

Cambodia welcomed about 2.2 million foreign visitors in 2008, a figure it aimed to increase to 3.1 million in 2010. But foreign tourists are set to fall by more than half this year, say industry experts.

“Worse still, Cambodia’s economy is now in a very poor condition as it is suffering from deflation and a ‘bubble-burst’ as Thailand experienced during the economic crisis in 1997,” she said.

But Thai products still have potential in Cambodia — particularly food and beverages, which are very popular among its consumers — said Mrs Jiranun.

“Thai investors are still reluctant to invest in Cambodia for fear of national conflict following the temple dispute, leaving investors from other countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam to rapidly overtake them,” said Mr Chaiyapruk.

Cambodia has officially made its demand for more than US$2 million (Bt69 million) compensation from Thailand over damage following the clash between troops of both sides at Preah Vihear temple in April.
Phnom Penh presented its complaint to the Thai Foreign Ministry on Monday, saying the attack with heavy weapons by Thai troops against Cambodian territory near the Hindu temple on April 3 damaged a Cambodian market.

“A total of 246 stands within this market were completely destroyed, causing great hardship and misery to 319 Cambodian families who have lost their entire livelihood,” said a diplomatic note from Phnom Penh to Thailand.

“The material loss incurred on these families amounts to $ 2,150,500,” it said.

Cambodia demanded the Thai government take full responsibility for damage caused by the Thai soldiers and to appropriately compensate for the losses, it noted.

The border skirmish in April at the disputed area near the Preah Vihear temple killed three Thai and two Cambodian soldiers and injured many others. Phnom Penh has not demanded compensation for the loss of its troops.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said Thailand did not need to compensate Cambodia for the damage since the clash took place in Thai territory.

Thai troops fired to defend national sovereignty and maintain order in the area, he said.

The ministry would send a letter to Cambodia to reiterate Thailand’s position and insist the area belongs to Thailand, Tharit said.

The ministry’s legal affairs and treaties experts would consider whether Thailand will send a counter demand for compensation, he said.

The border dispute with Cambodia erupted last year as Thailand opposed Phnom Penh’s proposal to list the Hindu temple as a world heritage site.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 the Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia, but its surroundings have been claimed by both sides and have not yet been demarcated. The conflict sparked military clashes in October last year and again in April this year.

The Cambodian Information Minister has refuted a U.S. State Department report about the country’s capability of countering terrorism as “not 100 percent correct,” national media said on Sunday.

The recently issued U.S. report about the global anti-terrorism situation claimed that terrorists might take advantage of the weakness of Cambodia, such as corruption, poverty and lax management of the border, to carry out illegal acts in its territory, despite the government had made a clear promise to crack down on this type of crime, the newspaper Jian Hua Daily quoted the minister as saying.

In addition, Cambodia lacked training and other resources to counter terrorism, it added.

Khieu Kanharith, also spokesman for the Cambodian government, said “there is no country in the world that can control its border with 100 percent accuracy, neither Cambodia.”

However, “the government has established strong and trustworthy relations with different communities in order to nip any social violence in bud,” the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the newspaper also quoted a senior official of the Interior Minister as saying that there is minimum possibility that terrorists’ acts occur in Cambodia, and fighting against money laundering should be the kingdom’s priority in the anti-terrorism field.

According to official reports, no major terrorism case with global connection has occurred in the country so far.

A former Khmer Rouge prison chief said regime leader Pol Pot was worse than China’s “Gang of Four” as he admitted further “cowardly” deeds at Cambodia’s United Nations-backed war crimes court on Thursday.

Duch – real name Kaing Guek Eav – is on trial for overseeing the torture and extermination of 15,000 people who passed through the regime’s Tuol Sleng prison, also known as S-21.

He told the tribunal that the regime’s hardline communist theory was worse than China’s cultural revolution, led by the so-called Gang of Four who orchestrated extremist social reforms over 10 years up to 1976.

“Pol Pot evacuated all the people from Phnom Penh city, smashed the former regime officials, smashed the capitalists, smashed the intellectuals. So only the peasant worker class remained,” Duch said.

The Khmer Rouge regime used the word “smashed” to refer to killing.

“This Gang of Four went one step forward, but Pol Pot went 10 steps forwards. Pol Pot’s theory was even crueller than the theory of this group of four,” Duch said.

Duch said his appointment as chairman of S-21 meant that his “duties became crimes against humanity by way of [overseeing] killing”, but said his early sympathy for the victims gave way to an instinct for self-preservation.

“I was compelled to go on,” he told the court.

“I was rather cowardly in that I did not contest but went on carrying out their orders and sometimes even exercised my power to ensure that myself and the lives of my family would be out of danger.”

Brought to justice

Earlier Duch told the court he knew the hardline communist regime would eventually be brought to justice.

He is charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and premeditated murder over the extermination of thousands of people between 1975 and 1979 at Tuol Sleng and the nearby “Killing Fields”.

However, he has denied prosecutors’ claims that he played a central role in the Khmer Rouge’s iron-fisted rule, and maintains he only tortured two people himself and never personally executed anyone.

Duch faces life in jail at the court, which does not have the power to impose the death penalty.

Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998 and many believe the UN-sponsored tribunal is the last chance to find justice for victims of the regime, which killed up to two million people.

The tribunal was formed in 2006 after nearly a decade of wrangling between the United Nations and the Cambodian government and is scheduled to try four other senior Khmer Rouge leaders.

President Sam Rainsy is full of joy and hope when he visited party supporters in Australia. This was just before the 2008 election, in a small gathering he pointed to everyone in the room, “if we win the election, we will need all of you”. The election has come and gone, what about the joy and hope?

Those who close to the president, know he has fought hard, may be too hard. The picture on the right hand side probably say a lot about how Sam Rainsy has lead the party through last year election. He pulls the load while his team parades a long.

In hindsight, we know that not the only factor. There were fraud and irregularities in the voting system and there were the 2008 Cambodian-Thai stand-off over the Preah Vihear Temple which were widely seen as a successful attempt of the ruling CPP to gain more support.

And there were media restriction, Sam Rainsy party and other minor parties have no access to media to explain their party policy.

Despite all of these, there were 1, 316, 714 voters put their trust on Sam Rainsy party compare to 3, 492, 374 voters for the CPP, which equate to 21.91% of the total voters.

1, 316, 714 Cambodian people fight against all odd so their voices can be heard, they want to tell the government that they want a better standard of living, they hate corruption and they want a free health care.

As long as 1, 316, 714 or more Cambodian people behind Sam Rainsy party, there is still joy and hope! To ensure we have real hope, not a fault hope. Sam Rainsy party needs to do more, Sam Rainsy party needs share the load.

There have been suggestions for all Sam Rainsy MP to take up the role as shadow minister, where senior MP take up more then one ministerial roles. As part of the of the Key performance indicator (KIP), each PM at least have one meeting per month with minister of their portfolio.

This will not only give MP the opportunity to have hand on experience, but it also allow MP to work closely with the current government, engage in a constructive way. The suggestion comes as more Sam Rainsy supporters worry about the faith of their party. Many see the suggestion as a step toward the right the direction, the next election is not too far a way and it is time for Sam Rainsy party to come together and look at ways to stimulate the party.

Sam Rainsy is the architecture and founder of Sam Rainsy party, he lead the party through many elections. No doubt, Sam Rainsy is the second largest party in country. Sam Rainsy used to enjoy financial support from within the country and abroad. But 13 years in opposition is a long time, some even start to predict the next election will be the last for Sam Rainsy, if there is no dramatic change in the current structure.

One supporter, only want to name as Kim said “Sam Rainsy party needs to look beyond opposition and start to believe that it can lead the country, once it has that mindset everything else will fall in places. With one Sam Rainsy, the party receieve 1, 316, 714 votes. Imagine 25 Sam Rainsy”. Kim was referring to 25 MP of the Sam Rainsy party. Maybe as Kim suggested, it is time for Sam Rainsy start to groom it MP!